“It is vitally important that we change the framing of this issue, especially in the Latino community, where we clearly have more to lose. This is a matter of health and safety, not of sex and stigma.”

“Growing up in an undocumented Latino family we never dreamed of going to the hospital unless our arm had actually fallen off, yet alone to receive preventative care. Our fear of getting deported was much worse than the fear of cervical cancer.”

“We need to come to grips with the fact that women, even younger women, teenagers, are sexual beings. Shame should never kill anyone.’

Verónica Bayetti-Flores, Policy Research Specialist with NLIRH urges us not to forget LGBTQ individuals as we aim to bring the cervical cancer rate down to zero. Verónica discusses the discrimination, bias, homophobia, transphobia the LGBTQ community faces in the health care system in addition to the systematic oppression in society.

Kate Ryan at National Women’s Health Center urges us to find a balance between overscreening some women (typically women who have excellent health insurance) and underscreening other women (typically those who face barriers to health care access.)

“To reduce disparities for Latinas and other under-served women, we will need to make systemic changes in our health care system to increase access to screening and vaccinations for those who need it most.”

While not part of the ¡Acábalo Ya! Blog Carnival, New American Media ran an interesting piece about Lilia Fuentes’ experience with a cervical cancer diagnosis and the impact of cervical cancer on Latinas in California.

We thank everyone who raised their voice this week and shared their perspective on what it will take to end cervical cancer!